Trump told reporters further threats from North Korea would be "met with fire, fury and frankly power the likes of which this world has never seen before".

The tough talk came amid reports that North Korea had developed technology to miniaturize a nuclear warhead that could be placed in a intercontinental ballistic missile. More than 70 percent of S&P 500 companies that had reported posted better-than-expected earnings while 69 percent have beaten of sales, according to data from Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Earlier in the day, the Dow had climbed to a record intraday high of 22,179.11.

On the U.S. economic front, the Labor Department released a report showing labor productivity increased by slightly more than expected in the second quarter.

The report said labor productivity climbed by 0.9 percent in the second quarter after inching up by a revised 0.1 percent in the first quarter.

The Labor Department also said unit labor costs rose by 0.6% in the second quarter following an upwardly revised 5.4% spike in the first quarter.

Earlier in the day, trading was impacted by a report from the Labor Department showing an unexpected jump in job openings in the month of June.

Declining issues outnumbered advancing ones on the NYSE by a 1.14-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 1.11-to-1 ratio favored advancers.

Markets in Canada's largest centre were set to follow global markets lower on Wednesday as investors held back from betting on riskier assets amid escalating North Korea tensions.

The weakness among oil service stocks came amid a modest decrease by the price of crude oil, with crude for September delivery slipping USD0.22 to USD49.17 a barrel. The Nasdaq composite fell 13 points, or 0.2 percent, to 6,370. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index tumbled by 1.3%, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell by 0.4%.

Meanwhile, the major European markets moved modestly higher over the course of the session.